The United States and Japan will step up their defence cooperation to deal with the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea as tensions in East Asia remain high, officials from the two allies said on Thursday.

Police report obtained by US site resurfaces child abuse claims against Michael Jackson

A police report obtained by a US publication has resurfaced child molestation claims against the late singer Michael Jackson.

Material later used in a trial against the singer was reportedly found at Jackson’s Neverland ranch in 2003, when it was raided by police after accusations of child molestation were made against the Thriller singer, by 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo.

A team of 70 officers raided the California ranch.

"In a book Jackson called 'Room to Play', there is a deeply disturbing photo of a [murdered child beauty queen] JonBenet Ramsey look-alike with a noose around her neck," a private investigator told Radar Online, which claims to have obtained the "never-before-seen police reports" of the raid.

Michael Jackson in 1992. (Getty)

Former Santa Barbara Senior Assistant District Attorney Ron Zonen, who unsuccessfully attempted to prosecute Jackson, claimed the material was used to "de-sensitise children".

"Michael admitted taking one child after another into bed with him for long periods of time," he said.

"We identified five different boys, who all made allegations of sexual abuse. There’s not much question in my mind that Michael was guilty of child molestation."

Related Articles

Jackson was acquitted in June 2005 of the charges, four years before he died of a cardiac arrest.

Jackson's arrest documents in 2003. (Getty)

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement the reports and photographs "appear to be copies that were authored and taken by Sheriff’s Office personnel".

"(The documents are) interspersed with content that appears to be obtained off the Internet or through unknown sources. The Sheriff’s Office did not release any of the documents and/or photographs to the media," it said.

"The Sheriff’s Office released all of its reports and the photographs as part of the required discovery process to the prosecution and the defense."